Slave master
by PersianWitch
Summary: Yami, a young master, rescued a slave and took him into his house. Right now, he seems sick. Will Atem be able to help him? and where is Yugi in this? Monarchshipping, eventual Mobiumshipping, some bits of Loyaltyshipping.
1. Tired and troubled

_Witch's thoughts: hello there my dear readers! yes, I'm back! I'm very, very sorry that I wasn't up for so long, but it's all in the past now. however, if you wait for my star wars or KnB fanfiction, you'd have to wait some more. I'm still to find my love for star wars again and when it comes to Kuroko... jesus christ, Akashi is scaring the hell out of me! if you want anything from this fandom from me, wait until this saga ends. I'm terrified by Akashi ;_;_

_but coming back to subject (I promise, I won't rant like this in later chapters) I managed to get my hands on Yu-gi-oh! show some time ago, and oh my god, how I love Yugi. and Yami. and Atem... you'll see ;)_

_now, have fun! I hope you'll like the story!_

_Witch_

* * *

Yami stepped through door to his house and sighed. A long day had passed and he felt drained, as he loosened the tie on his neck. His jacket was too hot for this time of the year and he had sweat a lot, having to have it on all the time in the office. Now, he was not only tired, as usual, but also feeling sticky. And that was what he couldn't tolerate.

Stepping quietly onto staircase, he shed his shoes and socks with pleasure. Padding with his bare feet through the hall and further into corridors, he listened to his own footsteps and thought about the night to come. Lost in thoughts, he didn't notic,e when Miho came out of one of the rooms.

"Oh!" she squeaked "I didn't know you are home, young master! Welcome back!"

"I'm home, Miho." Yami mumbled quietly, with another sigh cracking his neck. He grimaced. "Could you please tell Anzu that I'll be having dinner in my study? And have someone to prepare the bath for me? I would very much like that."

"Of course, young master" Miho curtseyed and run back to the kitchen. She even forgot that she should still be dusting the furniture in one of the bedrooms. Now, it was essential to fulfill young master's orders, to have everything in place right on the time. As usual.

At the same time, when Miho was looking for Anzu, Yami reached his rooms not meeting anyone else. Not turning on the lights and feeling soft carpet under his bare feet, he smiled a little, but it was a sad smile. His head hurt terribly and with all the work he should have to have finished by tomorrow, he sure wasn't getting much sleep tonight. Which was good.

Yami slouched, thinking about the night. There were times when it wasn't so important and sleep was a deserved rest, but no more. No more for far too long to remember otherwise. Feeling stiffness in his arms and neck, he tried to get rid of it by moving around, however, without success. Then, he flopped down on sofa, closing his eyes and leaning a little on pillows. Now, his spine protested to being twisted in such strange manner, but Yami ignored it. He needed to feel some of his muscles, because long day in the office left him a little numb.

Still with his eyes closed, he felt around a little to find a small coffee table by the sofa. These rooms were his for as long as he remembered and he didn't have to _see_ to know what was where. Glasses on the coffee table, his desk and his books in one corner, armchair and bigger table to far right, by the window... a little further, his bed and wardrobes. He liked how all his rooms were connected into one, open, free space. It used to be different in the past, but since the nights became painfully long for him, Yami liked to wander around his room. All the walls and closed doors had been making him feel claustrophobic.

A sound of quiet, but firm steps made him twitch and frown a little.

"The bath is ready, master" came deep, beautifully masculine voice. Yami frowned even more. Steps were the wrong ones, as well as was the voice and he didn't like it, when his routine was interrupted.

"Shouldn't you be helping Serenity in the garden today?" he asked quietly, not moving an inch. His spine hurt and he felt that some of his joints were like on fire. But even that didn't make him change once determined position on his pillows.

Now he heard a small chuckle.

"No, master. I _was_ supposed to, yes. But since it's already dark, miss Serenity finished her work. And I was told to prepare bath for master."

Seemed like subtlety would get him nowhere.

"What I want to know is, where is Mahad? " Yami said with tired annoyance "I didn't want you now, Atem."

"Mister Mahad went to take care of the books master had ordered, since it was required to have a person from our household to be present.

Oh, that's right, Mahad was gone for a day. Now, Yami decided, was the time to open his eyes. In the dark, they glowed like wolf's and were similarly terrifying in their sharpness.

What he saw, was that his servant was standing at the door, as he was supposed to, with towels and a bathrobe in his hands. Atem was already half naked and only in his tribal sandals, which meant he was prepared for bathing his master. But Yami didn't feel like it. However, he didn't feel like arguing as well, so now his problem was which one of the annoying things was to be less tiring.

He decided that as much as he would like Mahad to be the one to accompany him, he had to make do with Atem. He was way too tired to talk down Atem into giving in about helping him. Without another word, Yami got up from the sofa and went to bathroom.

/

Atem was in trouble.

He tried his best to stand still and behave himself, but it was nearly impossible to look stoic and respectable with a bunch of towels in his arms. Atem thought that he must be looking ridiculous, standing there with his hair tied on top of his head, bare legs and closing the door with his foot, since his arms were busy. It was only half bad that mister Mahad was gone for the day – they managed to go through the day quite safely without him supervising all of their activities as usual. But right now, when he should have been back already and the one to do this, Miho went straight to Atem and told him that master Yami wants his bath. Since mister Mahad wasn't there, it was apparently his responsibility and everything would be alright if Atem wasn't truly, desperately, childishly in love with his master.

Right now, it took all of his willpower to fight back a blush, threatening to overrun his face, neck and probably all of him, down to his toes. Hiding behind towels in his arms helped, but only a little.

Master Yami was already nude, when Atem followed him into the bathroom. On some other occasion Atem would watch his fill of his master's body, but right now he was only able to swallow back a sigh. He remembered what Anzu told him, when he was leaving kitchen to join the master.

"Be careful, please. When young master wants to eat in his study, it means something went bad at his work and he might be grumpy. Just be there for him and don't react to anything bad he says and he will be better after bathing." the woman said, watching as Atem was struggling with his bundle. "and one more thing. Do not, and I mean it, do not comment about his body, hair, eyes, anything that concerns his looks. You might be surprised, but you'll see what I mean. Just don't do it and everything will be alright."

Atem wondered why shouldn't he comment on anything and thought that he wouldn't do it no matter what happened, because wasn't servants supposed to comment on nothing? But right now, looking at pale, slender body of his master, with cruel clarity he understood that master Yami was undeniably sick.

Moving with tired, slow grace, Yami seemed to not notice intent looks his servant was giving him. Standing in the middle of the chamber, he continued to cover his body with soap, carefully trying not to get his hair wet. He shortly pondered about when Mahad would be back. He didn't like straying from the routine.

On the other hand, Atem followed his master hand's with his eyes, dying to know if he had been mister Mahad, would master allow him to be the one doing the washing. But soon he realized that even if master Yami would allow him to touch him, he wouldn't dare. Master's body was so thin! When Yami turned, so that he stood with his front to Atem, the servant was surprised to see that all his ribs and collarbones were heavily visible, making master look even more vulnerable.

Seeing that master Yami already rinsed himself from soap and got into the tub, Atem moved closer, kneeling behind master's head. Now was the time he feared and desired the most since the moment he was called to prepare the bath.

Yami stretched in warm water, already feeling better. His spine went silent, as well as his arms, as soon as he moved them around a little more, while trying to wash his neck. He felt relaxed and a little sleepy, as he floated, immersed to his chin. He closed his eyes and let out a satisfied sigh...

… that died down, when unfamiliar, too big hands touched gently his scalp. Feeling panic rising in his throat and at the same time fighting to swallow it down, Yami caught the hands.

"First, you wet my hair. Then, apply shampoo and try not to pull too much. After that, tell me you are finished, I'll do the rest myself."

He didn't intend to sound so harsh, but a second of panic at the touch of some stranger made him irritated again. All he got in response was quiet "yes, master" and Atem began to do his job, too slow and too lightly for Yami's tastes, but he couldn't complain, since Mahad was _always_ the one to do it. No one else knew how he liked it. Or simply "wanted" it since "liked" was way too exaggerated. Yami hated to wash his hair.

With his eyes still closed, he let go of Atem's hands, allowing the servant to continue. Atem twitched, feeling unbelievably tense. He knew about master's phobia and wasn't so sure he was able to act as he was supposed. Looking at lean, beautifully muscled body of someone who lived sedentary way of live and trained martial arts, he felt the blush was back again. Master Yami was a very handsome man and Atem owned him a lot.

When a massage on his head stopped for a moment, Yami opened his eyes, wanting to scold the servant. But a look in his eyes made him frown and close his eyelids once again, a little calmer.

"Don't look at me like that, Atem."

"How do I look at you, master?" Atem asked, startled by this sudden conversation with his usually quiet, tired master. Also, he was afraid he screwed his task, and pulled too much.

"You do not own me anything." Yami said, or rather mumbled, as he was seemingly talking to himself. "I did not take you in and healed you out of kindness. You cost a pretty penny even though you were nearly dead. But, you are beautiful and I liked you. That's all that is to it and after you serve your five years of my constant wishes, you do not own me anything. Remember that."

_And that means I own you a lot more than I thought_. Atem didn't say that out loud, he only nodded his quiet "yes, master" and continued washing. He remembered the day half a year ago that his master was talking about. The day he was sold as deadly sick, wounded, dirty soldier and became a slave for someone who treated him, washed him and tended to his wounds until he was healthy. Some people would say that freedom was worth all pain one could get, but Atem wasn't so sure about this. He knew from experience, that when somebody helps you, he expects something in return. Atem feared that. His freedom wasn't worth much in this country, he was a foreigner and war slave, so he hadn't had to be treated well. But his black thoughts didn't transform into reality – master Yami expected loyalty and detested impertinence or rebelling of any sorts, but was not a bad master. Actually he was more of a strange master. His slaves all received a salary, had quarters identical to those of free people working in the house and they were only punished when did something _really_ bad. It seemed that even if Yami liked to have slaves, he didn't spare them as much thought as other people did. Master Yami didn't hate slaves nor pitied them – he just had them. And somehow, Atem found that reassuring.

After tensing at first, Yami looked like he relaxed again under his hands and Atem felt some strange emotion stirring in him. Then, he blushed madly, this time from pure, red hot embarrassment. Apparently, this emotion stirred not _in_ him, but _him_.

"Are you finished yet?" Yami's voice startled the slave, until Atem remembered that master couldn't see his lower half, as he was kneeling behind his back.

"Y-yes, master." he managed to cough up through his tight throat. "I'm finished."

"Then you may go for now. Leave my clothes near, I'll dress myself. And after you take care of your problem, wait for me in the study."

Smiling a little when he heard Atem draw in a surprised and nervous breath, Yami pinched his nose close and dived underwater. _Funny nation, those Egyptians_, he thought. Did he really thought he wasn't so evident that he got aroused by his master's body? Not that Yami minded. Actually, there wasn't much that he minded, even when he was properly rested, so in state he was now in, he wouldn't care if Mana brought her elephants again to play in his yard. That happened only once and never again later, because after Yami slept, he was so mad, that Mana didn't dare to come for a months after that. However, right now Yami really didn't care about anything and one servant with a secret crush on him didn't sound like something life threatening like an elephant in a gallop.

After drying himself and dressing, Yami walked to his study, finding there a meal, set for one person. There was little food, but all he liked, just as he wanted. He had to thank Anzu later. After all this years, she knew him so well, that she even once didn't have to ask for instructions. Yami welcomed that and promised himself to award her later. Bite after bite, he went through his food, absentmindedly looking at the shelves with his books. He felt Atem's nervous stare on his back, but choose to ignore it. The servant was stressed out enough already, there was no point in stirring him up more by talking to him.

Soon after the meal, Yami went to bed.

/

Late in the night, when the sky was dark and the moon hid behind the clouds, Miho was opening the door for Mahad.

"Welcome back, mister Mahad." Miho said, yawning a little. She wanted to get it over with quickly, as she was a little cold in her nightgown.

"I'm back Miho. How's the house? " Mahad asked, taking off his coat, before carefully taking a package, that he earlier set aside, in hands again.

"Everything is alright. We had no problems, mister Mahad."

"That's good. Did you..."

"Oh, welcome back mister Mahad!" they heard from the stairs. With a candle in hand, still lightly dressed, Atem was walking down.

"Hello Atem." Mahad said, looking a little tired and rather pale. "How was master today?"

"Oh, he was irritated about something." Miho interrupted before, Atem could open his mouth. "He ate in his study again! But he went to sleep some time ago and it's still fine."

"And who is with him?" Mahad asked, untying his shoes and taking them in hand too. Miho blinked, her look blank. Mahad didn't like that, a bad thought crossing his mind.

"Atem, who is with master? Who accompanied him?" he asked, harshly and with evident displeasure.

Both Atem and Miho looked surprised that they didn't think about that sooner.

"I-I did..." Atem stuttered, seeing a mixture of anger, fear and tiredness in eyes of the most calm person he'd ever met. But Mahad wasn't looking at him anymore. He let go of his packages that he treated so carefully before and launched into sprint, shoving Atem out of his way and hopping three stairs at a time.

When Atem and Miho managed to reach master's rooms after Mahad outran them, they saw that the door was wide open and heard noises as if there was a fight going on inside.

"Master! Master Yami! Please, wake up! Yami, WAKE UP!"

Mahad was shaking Yami's body back and forth, trying to wake him up and not succeeding for a long while. Thinking about the worst, watching master's ghostly white, distorted face, his paled lips opened in silent cry of fear and ragged breaths, Mahad's heart nearly stopped. But after a minute, when he was thinking about more extreme methods of waking up, Yami suddenly started breathing normally again, taking in air in needy gulps. His eyes snapped open, wide and shining from unspilled tears. He curled into a ball, fighting Mahad's arms, but eventually quieting down, when the servant didn't let go. For the longest of moments, Mahad stood still, his hands strongly restraining his master, with Miho and Atem watching him with scared expressions. Then, Yami's body relaxed, he put down his hands and sighed.

"Welcome back Mahad." Atem and Miho heard his weak voice.

"I wish I was back sooner, master. But yes, I am back." Mahad's voice was muffled, but again gentle and radiating calmness. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I think that now it is." Yami sighed again, this time noticing that there were more people in the room. "Why aren't you two sleeping already?"

Atem blinked out of his stupor, watching the scene before him with wide-eyed amazement. But it seemed that he was the only one that found it unusual, as Miho stepped in front firmly.

"We were worried, young master." she said, cuddling a package in her arms. It contained books that Mahad brought. "Should I call Miss Mai's Isis for tomorrow?"

"No need. I feel better already. " Yami smiled weakly, but his face regained it's original colour, losing that terrifying paleness. "But I'll be getting this books, Miho. I may as well start working, since I'm up."

Atem watched Miho giving their master the package and helping him unpack it, when he met Mahad's stare. It was icy cold, firm and calmly furious. It promised him a talk and it meant a talk when he would suffer greatly if Mahad wouldn't like what he heard.

Oh yes, Atem was in for big trouble.

* * *

**Witch again: so, how was it? comments are love :)**


	2. Past and a guest

_Witch's thoughts: that's outstanding, how much inspired I am to write this story down! anyway, here's a new chapter for you. not much of an "M" yet, but we are getting there, we are getting there..._

_I wanted to thank _Lover of Emotions_ for appreciating my effort put in the story. Thank you very much!_

* * *

Yami was writing down his dream, or rather nightmare, at the same time trying to convince Mahad that torturing people is a bad thing.

"… and besides he is a new one, so how should he know?" Yami asked, trying to not cover his fingers with ink. Sitting with his back to the servant, he couldn't see that Mahad scowled.

"He was told to do something and he didn't do it. I reckon it means punishment?" he asked slowly.

"Oh, it does, but I don't want to punish him for something he didn't understand. What did you tell him?"

This question was met with silence from Mahad's side. Amazed at loss of words from someone who seemingly always knew what to say, Yami put down his pen and turned to face him.

"I told him that our master has troubles sleeping and experiences nightmares."

Yami nodded in thought. "No wonder that he freaked out."

"But master…"

"No, Mahad. I kind of understand why this happened. Tell me, would someone tell you that his brother is nervous, would you think he has trauma, or rather that he is overreacting? It depends on what words you use and you, being your diplomatic self, didn't want him to think I'm crazy." Yami mumbled tiredly. His complexion was still white from exhaustion of last night and he had dark circles under his eyes. But a small smile was playing on his lips.

"So tell me, what did you make him do?"

"He is cleaning all floors on the ground floor." Mahad admitted reluctantly "including the ballroom."

Yami chuckled, picturing tall, beautiful Atem on his knees and scrubbing the panels. To tell the truth, he wasn't mad at him, no matter how furious Mahad was at the slave's mistake. He didn't like being treated and cared for as if he was a baby, but it was a long time since he resigned from any resistance against it. He knew he needed all the attention from his servants he could get, even right now when his problem was undeniably smaller; should something like last night happen half a year, or worse, a year earlier, Yami would most likely be gravely injured or even dead. Now, he felt just a little sick and wobbly, so after sitting through the rest of the night to complete the documents, he took half a day of paid rest and stayed home. However, the clock on his desk melodically hit noon and Yami sighed, knowing he would have to get up and prepare to go to work soon.

Standing up, Yami adjusted flab of his dressing gown and stretched, until he heard a satisfying 'pop' sound from his spine. He wanted to stroll calmly to his wardrobe to dress, when soft knocking on the door caused him to stop in the middle of the room.

"Young master, miss Mana is here to..."

"Yaaamiiiii!"

Only due to reflexes he got after training for so many years, Yami was able to avoid something that he mockingly called "attack hug", which was Mana's specialty. That and a bad feeling that overcame him when Miho was shoved aside and he saw brown mane with widely opened arms.

Mana's arms closed and she pouted.

"You could at least greet me! It was a long time since we saw each other!"

Yami only smiled, getting away to safe distance. Since there was no sign he wanted to go physical, Mana only sighed and followed him to the resting area of his room.

Once they were seated, Yami crossed his legs and smiled even wider.

"It's good to see you, Mana. It's been a long time indeed. How was trip to the east?"

Listening to Mana's chatter, Mahad let his thought wander a little. He still had a lot of things to do and to take care of. As the house's butler, he needed to make sure everything was ready for master's every wish. Not that Yami was a demanding master, but nonetheless, everything had to be flawless. Usually, Mahad was pleased with the servants that currently resided in the mansion, but it indeed took a lot of time to train them this way. Which showed how good they were, adjusting to master's needs in such short time...

Remembering about last night stirred some small sparks of anger in Mahad. With eyes of his soul, he saw his master, succumbed to the nightmare and this young slave, watching that, not understanding how grave of an error he had made. Mahad would say he didn't trust that new slave, shouldn't he know better. All in all, he was with master, when they bought Atem. There was something in the boy that made Mahad wonder if he was really just a soldier that got wounded and then caught by the enemy army. When found on slave market, he was dirty and caked in blood from his own wound as others were, but he was way too pretty and cared for for a common citizen. His body bore marks that suggested he was used to wear jewelery and expensive ones at that, such as arm bracelets heavy enough to leave something in shape of a scar from its presence. Besides, his hands were smooth and beautiful, apparently not used to any kind of physical work. But master decided to keep him and who was Mahad to oppose him? Besides, master seemed to have an idea who Atem was and with this in mind, he still wanted Atem in his house.

Not that it changed anything.

/

Atem stopped to wipe sweat from his forehead, but as a result thin rivulet of soapsuds trickled down his sleeve. Wincing more from amazement of how it felt than from the feeling itself, he bent back on his knees.

Surprisingly, Atem didn't mind cleaning the floors. As Mahad suspected, Atem was no ordinary soldier. He belonged to royalty, but much, much higher than anyone would anticipate. Actually, he was a third son of pharaoh Aknamkanon, the one called the incarnation of god Osiris, after his brothers Ra and Obelisk. But when said brothers were acclaimed as the ones in harmony with gods, Atem was shunned and neglected by their father. Officially, when born, Atem was a weak child which even stopped breathing for a moment before the priests rescued him. As the incarnation of god couldn't be this weak, Aknamkanon doubted his son's divinity. Atem grew up believing that he was not the same as his brothers, not as mighty, not as powerful and not as godly. However, more real reason for the abandonment resurfaced only when Atem was old enough to understand that not everything people said was necessarily true. Strongly tied to his mother, he endured his palace years, supporting her and protecting from false accusations of affairs and cheating on the mighty pharaoh.

Being a third, rejected prince was hell.

Atem remembered a situation, when equerry killed his favorite horse, when one of his brother said that the animal bit him. Which was undeniably a lie, since Ebony was the calmest mare in the world and she would never do something like that unprovoked. Despite his protests and pleas, the animal was beheaded. He would never forget his brother's smile of triumph.

His mother died when he was fourteen. They said it was from illness, but Atem knew no illness leaved prick marks like scorpions did. However, he was old enough to understand he couldn't say anything. So he didn't, in his soul swallowing bitter tears of sorrow. The only soul that treasured him, left this world.

Forgotten by everyone, or maybe worse, ignored by everyone, Atem spent next three years trying to stay out of sight. His brothers shone with respect and power of the gods, while their brother lived in the shadows, together, but apart from them. They were now way too much occupied to bully the youngest of them, so with time, Atem could breath more freely. He spent a lot of time in library, which was not a commonplace for his brothers or sneaking away from the palace, to regain calmness of his mind, while staying for some time on a river bank. He liked the river – it was huge, murmuring to him reassuringly, easing his worries and pouring a little confidence into his young heart. It gave Atem strength to once again go back and live in the palace.

Then, the war broke out. Terrible, terrifying war. In just few days the country was overrun by enemy soldiers. Before the capital fell, Atem got to know that his brothers died in battle, the incarnations of gods Obelisk and Ra lost their lifes protecting his mother country. As much as he knew he should, he didn't have enough hypocrisy in him to cry after them. But his father, the mighty pharaoh Aknamkanon suddenly remembered that he had another son; he had another protector... Atem hated army. Hated so much...

"Atem?"

Quiet, friendly voice made him twitch and get out of his reverie. This memories were bad enough, he didn't have to remember the fights. He was safe here.

"Atem, are you alright? You're staring at the rug for some time now..."

„Huh?" Atem blinked, when his sight came back from Egypt and focused on here and now. „Oh, right. I'm okay Serenity, don't worry. Just a little tired is all."

„You sure?" the girl came closer, crouched by his side and tried to see his face from under his gold bangs. "You didn't sleep last night, is that true? Miho told me."

Atem groaned. Up until now, the whole house would know how much he screwed up and how furious Mahad was. But well, that couldn't be helped.

"You know, I think that wasn't actually your fault." Serenity said slowly, observing him with kind eyes "We tend to forget that not everyone knows about young master's nightmares and so, not everyone knows what to do. I think that mister Mahad had in mind to fill you in after you got healthy, but you know how things were recently." she sighed. Atem nodded; one of master's friends was getting married and wanted to hold a party in master's house. It was about a week since the doctor claimed Atem was up to house works, so he missed almost all of the chaos, but even so, the cleaning was exhausting enough.

"That didn't look like a nightmare." Atem said, as if wondering. Serenity sighed a little and her face grew serious.

"Because they aren't. Young master has visions, you know?" seeing that Atem's eyes got wide, she continued "but mister Mahad says that they are metaphorical and everything young master sees is in shape of a monster. Buildings, trees, people, everything. Can you imagine that? No wonder he cannot sleep well." Serenity sounded genuinely sad. She shuddered at the thought a such dreams.

Before Atem could answer, a stern voice came from direction of an exit.

"I see that you are free now, Serenity" Mahad sounded clam, but not really pleased "if so, do not disturb Atem. He still has his work to finish.

"I was just checking on him, mister Mahad." Serenity said, straightening herself. She was in this household way too long to not be immune to the butler's stares.

"There is no need for that." Mahad looked at her from his impressing height, but she didn't even flinch. "Besides, he is now required in master's quarters. We have a guest."

Atem looked at Serenity questioningly. He didn't know what it had to do with him, he was not a representative servant, so it hadn't happened before. Not that 'before' was long, but still...

"Come." Mahad said, his icy blue eyes crushing him under pressure of their gaze. "Master is waiting."

* * *

_Witch again: yes, Atem still OOC. changed his story and kind of fits into what I planned for the three of them ;) actually, this chapter will be a little longer, but since I'm sick and cannot sit writing for longer period of time, I thought I'd post just this, for you guys.  
_

_also, I'm looking for beta for this one. any volunteers?_

_comments are love ~_


	3. Oh Mana

_Witch's thoughts: okay guys, that's all you're going to get from me this week. I have my duties piled up at work and have to solve that, but I'm still sick, so it will take some time. but, I promise I'll update in week's time, okay?_

_actually, this was supposed to be a second part of second chapter, but I thought it may be on its own, when posted closely to the second one :) I hope you will enjoy that._

_I wanted to thank _Fragments of Imagination_ and _Mana's Madness_ for appreciating my effort put in the story. Thank you very much!_

* * *

"... oh, and if you could see these trees! Simply great, looking just like a mint candy! And when you tore off some leaves…"

Yami listened to Mana with pleasure. Usually people found her annoying and rather tiring, but for him, her high, excited voice was refreshing. He had enough of people who hushed their voices in his presence and tried to calm him. Yami understood that those, who knew about him treated him specially, but he hated it nonetheless, at the same time thanking gods for having such considerate friends. Because even if he didn't like it, it was for the best. As always.

Mana was bouncing on the sofa like a very happy, very hairy and very loud ball. Yami liked to look at her too. She was so full of life that she sometimes made him tired just by observing what she was up to this time. There was a time they would cause mischief together and their strong friendship was built over all punishments and successful attempts at pranks throughout the years. Even though now Yami wasn't able to keep her pace, Mana still considered him her accomplice.

"… And, and there were these little, furry balls with eyes and…"

"Please, excuse us."

The door opened, revealing Mahad, straight-back and proud as usual, with a little wobbly Atem right behind him. His unsteadiness was caused by a heavy tray in his hand, filled with cups, little plates, spoons, sugar, cookies, teapot, fruit and napkins. Trying to contain his sudden cheerfulness, Yami made a mental note to himself to have a serious talk with Mahad. It seemed that not being allowed to punish Atem as he saw fit, Mahad discovered new levels of small, annoying torments, that would show the slave that he was in disgrace, at least in the eyes of the butler. And as much as it was amusing, this situation couldn't continue.

Steered into right direction, Atem placed down his tray and stepped back, or rather was pulled back by his belt by Mahad. The butler started to set the cups.

"Oh, a new face!" Mana exclaimed good-naturedly. Her interest in the slave caused Yami to feel flattered.

"His name is Atem." He said, sipping the tea Mahad placed before him. "Atem, this is Miss Mana. She is a frequent and always welcomed guest here."

Atem bowed, again thanks to not-so-subtle-persuasion by Mahad. And as much a Atem looked nervous from the situation, interventions into his behavior as if he was a baby made him slightly annoyed. He furred his eyebrows in displeasure and Yami noticed that he had really nice eyes and long eyelashes that softened a little his sharp features. Surprised, Yami stated that even though his face and body looked greatly masculine, it could be seen in his gaze that Atem was still just a boy.

Lost in his observation Yami nearly didn't hear Mana's question.

"Excuse me?"

"I asked if he is the one that you had to pull through?"

Yami blinked. "Oh yes, you know what state those poor slaves are brought in onto the market. Majority dies during travel here, usually from fever and infected wounds, so I figured that if he was strong enough to live through it, he will get better."

"And he did." Mana said. "Oh gods, how well he did!"

Yami found out that this manly, tall, strong Atem blushed easily. He would have to get used to Mana's suggestive statements, because it seemed that he would be getting a lot of them.

"But I heard he attacked you? When he got better?"

Yami paused for a second, when he was bringing the cup to his lips. From the corner of his eye he saw that Mahad stiffened even more than normal.

"Nonsense." He stated firmly. "Where did you heard that?"

"So he didn't?" Mana's brown eyes, suddenly sharp and narrowed, slid from Yami to Atem and back. "It is not true?"

"Of course not." It was Yami's turn to frown. He was quite sure this information didn't leak, but if it really did, he was in deep trouble. Now, he had to make sure that it was an information and not just a shot-in-the-dark gossip.

"Then it's so nice to meet you, Atem!" Mana was bright and childish again, her dark aura disappeared into thin air. Yami sighed inwardly, knowing that the danger was now away for some time. But that needed investigation.

The truth was that they really had problems with restraining Atem, when he came to, after being treated by the healer. He was a strong young man and the war time must have taught him some tricks. Enough to say that scared and hurting Atem overpowered Mahad and was holding Yami hostage, when they were rescued by a mere coincidence. It all ended with Atem having to be treated some more, as Yami had to break his arm to get free, but in the end, no one died.

Yami made sure nobody was to talk about this. But apparently, someone didn't how to keep their mouth shut. That worried him.

"Hey, Yami! Are you listening?"

Of course he wasn't. "I'm sorry. What was that?"

"I'd better be going now." Mana sighed, seeing that his attention was now divided. Yami nodded absent mindedly, standing up after her and thinking about how to solve his problem, so he didn't see that coming. Mana jumped at the chance and hugged him wholeheartedly from behind.

Atem hated the army. He couldn't get comfortable with the idea of killing people he didn't know. But the training had its advantages and one of them was that Atem was able to observe situation and decide quickly. That was why he reacted in time with Mahad and standing by her sides, they brought Mana down before Yami's reflexes kicked in. As in slow motion, Atem saw Yami's elbow coming over Mana's head and he thought that a second too late and he would be the one hit in the face.

The time sped up to normal again and a lot of people were shouting.

"Ouch, that hurt! Why am I on the floor?!"

"Atem, get miss Mana away!"

"Are you alright, miss? Please, get up…"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Yami's voice was high and clearly full of anger that Atem never heard in his always calm and a little tired master. Atem saw him resigned, sleepy, annoyed, pleased, worried, exhausted and scared beyond imagination, but his wrath was the most frightening thing Atem experienced since coming to this country.

Master Yami's red eyes were sparkling with unhealthy light, his face pale and distorted. His body was set in defensive position, ready to take on anyone who would be foolish enough to come closer. His fists were clenched so much that his knuckles went white and nails cut through the skin. When Mahad made a step in his direction, Atem could swear that Yami growled under his breath.

And then, everything ended, just like that. Sanity returned to Yami's gaze; he blinked a few times before standing in more relaxed pose and staring in amazement at thin rivulets of blood that trickled down his scratched hands. Then, he must have remembered something, because he looked in direction of the other in the room, violently turning his head. Seeing Mana on the floor, Atem standing before her defensively and Mahad who was lurking in front of them, Yami groaned as if in pain.

Mahad took his chance and decided it was his responsibility to solve the situation.

"Atem." He said quietly, still watching Yami closely. "Walk miss Mana to the door, I'll…"

"Yami, you IDIOT!"

Before either of the men could catch her, Mana jumped in front of them, shouting.

"You had your nightmares again?! You did, right? You don't want anyone to touch you when you had the nightmares! Why! Why wouldn't anyone wake you up?! You were getting better lately! Yami!"

"Mana... are you... okay?"

"I am! But you're not! For gods sakes, Yami, you can't go on like that! You need to rest!" Mana screamed, frustrated. She spun around, pointing at the other two with her finger. "Mahad! Take your master to his bed and don't let him get out of it! He doesn't have to sleep, just make him rest, dammit! You!" she violently jabbed Atem in the chest "When Yami gets back up, sound and kicking, I want a full, detailed report. Understand? Now, I going home."

"But Mana, I'm..."

"Off to bed with you! You recently don't look good at all, so I didn't notice, but now I see, that you got pretty fucked up again. And don't argue with me. Mahad!"

"Mana..." Yami tried to protest, but felt suddenly too weak to do so. His head hurt.

"To bed! Now!"

When Mana really went home, stomping and huffing like a small elephant, Mahad assisted his master to the bedroom part of his apartment. Yami felt a little unsure in his knees, so he sagged down on his mattress. Hiding his face in his hands, he let out one long, heavy sigh.

Mahad made sure the door was locked, the clothes gathered in neat pile, dressing gown hanging within master's reach, he had water to drink and the windows were shut. During all this preparations, Yami didn't move an inch.

"Master..." Mahad came closer, carefully waiting for any sign of tensing in his master's figure. But there was none of it. "It may really be a good idea to just rest. Mister McDowell called and said that since the project is very much done, you do not need to go to work today."

But Yami wasn't listening. He massaged his temples, at the same time gritting his teeth.

"I nearly hit Mana." he said, his voice unnaturally flat and expressionless. "My dear baby Mana. I attacked her."

"Master Yami." Mahad decided it was time for much firmer tone of voice. Yami seemed to crumble down right before his eyes. "It was an accident. Miss Mana is fine and nothing happened. She just didn't notice you felt unwell."

"But what is she doesn't notice again and you won't be there? If I snap and try to hit Miho? What then, huh?!" Yami started shouting, but Mahad clearly heard desperation in this whole mass of anger. Master Yami constantly worried he was going insane. Apparently, now more than ever. He had strong, self-confident personality, but when tired and unsure like that, even he couldn't help, but wonder. So Mahad distracted him, as he did many times before.

In one swift step, he closed in on his master, gathering him in his arms and holding still. Yami reacted nearly instantly, but as Mahad was the one who trained him in self defense, he countered the blow and crashed their lips together. Yami was still struggling, trying to get free, but to no avail. He moaned into his servant's lips, holding his arms with shaking hands. He felt fire overtaking his body, so hot and hurting, radiating from Mahad's body, engulfing him and chocking...

Feeling that his master relaxed, Mahad loosened his grip on his arms and hugged him instead, with the other hand weaving into Yami's hair, to lead him into deepening the kiss. His tongue slid through invitingly opened lips, skillfully coaxing the other to join. Yami let out something between a hiss and a cry, that changed into hoarse moan, when Mahad's hand went down to grip his ass. Not thinking, he brought their bodies tightly together, feeling crazy with need to get release. The adrenaline pumped through his veins, making him unable to stop and get everything rationally, right now he was a raw bundle of nerves and impulses that needed to discharge.

Mahad pushed Yami onto the bed, immediately laying down as well and covering him with his larger body. Yami whimpered quietly, feeling the other's big hand on his member, stroking, caressing, _touching_ him and oh gods, he was so close, so close...

Release hit him hard, making him bend off the mattress with silent scream on his lips. A wave after wave trashed him, before a tired, spent body lied down on the bed again. Mahad got off him and tenderly touched his face.

"Do you feel better, master?" he asked in gentle voice, taking in Yami's disheveled state, his half-lidded eyes and sweaty hair.

Yami remained silent for a moment, as if he was reflecting on that. Finally, he nodded slightly, turning his face away from his servant.

"Should I...?"Mahad began, before he was cut off.

"No, I'll manage myself" Yami stated firmly and a lot more calmly than he had been some minutes ago. "now leave me alone please. I'll take my bath later, but now I want to rest. You may go."

"Shouldn't I stay near?" Mahad asked, getting up from the bed. Now he was in his position of servant again and had to behave like that.

"No." Yami still refused to look at him. "I won't sleep. I just want to rest."

"Yes, master." Mahad bowed, his eyes lingering over his master's unmoving body. But he didn't get anything, no order, no voice, no mere glance, so he backed off and left the room. Hearing the knob click, Yami hid his face in the blanket on his messy bed. That was why he hated sex – after just a moment of heat, now he felt sweaty, extremely tired and dirty... not to mention terribly, terrifyingly cold.

Hugging himself with his arms and trying to get under covers, Yami fought back a wave of pure loneliness, chanting in a quiet voice that he was alright and desperately wanting to believe it.

* * *

**Witch again:**** don't worry, next chapters are going to be longer, this one just turned out to be written in two parts, because I cannot sit in front of the computer, as I have fever :/  
**

**as you can see, I couldn't write a sex scene to save my life :sigh: is someone out there that could give me tips? please? **

**comment are love ~**


	4. I'll let you dream for now

_Witch's thoughts: there is an important note about the next update at the end of the chapter._

* * *

It'd been a week since his unfortunate state after experiencing the nightmare and Yami somehow kept his spirits up. Or actually more high than they used to be.

He kept going to work on daily basis. His employer knew about Yami's strange attacks and particular state he was in after that, so he didn't have problems with unexpected free day or two, but Yami really tried not to overuse it. So he dragged himself every morning to the company building, doing his pieces of assignments and waiting for boss to call on him.

Yami hated the front door of his house. It was tall, richly carved and stylized to look impressive and dominating over the visitors. That made him sick. When he was coming back, tired as a dog, he didn't want to put up with pride and pretense of his ancestors. InsAnzud, Yami usually managed to sneak through the garden, around one of the wings and through the servants' corridor into his own quarters. Sometimes, he would even sit down under one of the trees, hidden from a gaze of everyone coming to the house, and take a breath or two of fresh air, not disturbed by anyone. But since the time he nearly gave the gardener a heart attack, Yami made sure he was easy to spot.

This day was long too, with the director calling him every three minutes to ask if he is free for a game of chess and groaning disappointed, when he was saying he had to work every time. His secretary was chuckling at sound of the telephone, not brave enough to not connect the call, but being close enough to observe all of mister Yami's attempts of shrugging off the chess with mister Pegasus.

When finally at home, when he threw off his stiff clothing, kicked the shoes off his tired feet and plopped down on sofa, Yami let out a sigh of relief. His neck hurt, but he didn't move, basking in silence of familiar, caring, safe surroundings. Feeling as if thoughts were swimming through ganglions of his brain, he shook his head vigorously, with much lighter mood thinking about dinner. The utensils were clicking softly from the dining area, where he suspected he would meet Miho, but decided to not frighten her by appearing out of nowhere. This way he could stay as he was, hanging down from the sofa in relaxed manner. He loved moments like this; undisturbed, he could sit like that all day and look into the wall, lost in his swarming thoughts.

"Welcome back, master Yami."

Right voice. Right steps. Quiet noises, as always, echoing through the room, when Mahad was gathering and straightening his discarded pieces of clothing. Yami smiled. He wouldn't say that aloud, of course, but Mahad's pigheadedness and formality put him at ease. Even though some memories connected to him weren't something Yami was proud of, especially those like the night week ago, when after the incident with Mana, he still needed... help in calming down. Yami tried really hard to reward Mahad, thinking that it was his ingrained sense of duty that pushed the servant into crossing the border of their positions of master and butler. He didn't know how to do it though, emberassed to address the problem, when they were alone, at the same time greatly grateful for Mahad's sacrifice. Because in more that one situation, he saved Yami's life, not to mention his sanity.

"The meal is set, young master." came quiet words, snapping Yami's attention back to reality. Involuntarily, he shifted from once set position and groaned, when blood rushed into previously cut off veins.

"I'll be right there, Mahad." he said, sliding from the sofa and standing on unsure legs, waiting for the circulatory system to work again. Trying not to sway, Yami looked up, thinking he was alone, but he was caught in Mahad's gentle brown gaze like a rabbit in the lights. The tall butler was standing quietly by the door, observing his master, so when a need was to arise, he would be near, ready to assist. But even being his stern self, always responsible and dutiful, Mahad didn't expect to see such dread on Yami's face, when he obviously thought that butler left the room. He frowned.

Yami, who was in a rather light mood when he got home, suddenly felt as if he was falling down into dark, deep, cold pit of guilt. He remembered how this strong arms embraced him, reassured, treasured and caressed that even now made him feel warmer. But heat was immediately replaced with ice – Yami saw Mahad frowning in displeasure, nearly seeing in his usually kind eyes resentment and disdain, even if expertly hidden. Yami didn't know what Mahad thought about the role he took upon himself and what was his attitude towards his master as a man, but he knew one thing: he really was despicable relying so much on Mahad. Relying so much on everyone. He was weak and ugly, lacked strength, self-confidence and charisma, and this... this _need _to be comforted after the dreams was bordering with perversion...

"Is everything alright, young master? Master Yami?"

Yami blinked. A weight he didn't even register previously was lifted from his worrying heart and suddenly, he could breathe easier. Straightening his shoulders, something he thought he couldn't do in the evening and what now came to him strangely naturally, he sighed with pleasure.

"Yes, I'm alright."

Yami strutted past Mahad, trying not to look him in the eyes again.

/

The evening came and went by, filled with usual duties and no problems whatsoever. Master sneaked in as usual and Anzu was already prepared to serve his meal, not even having to ask for preference or permission. Now, after the dishes were taken away and washed, she swept past slaves' quarters and got Atem out of his reverie in the library. Giving him ladder, rugs and water basin to carry, she led him into one of the corridors.

"It has to be done." Anzu stated, pointing at a wall at their right. "See these paintings? If we don't dust them now, we will soon be able to write on them. Not to mention we will all get asthma..."

Atem didn't object. As she noticed a while ago, he wouldn't object to anything, always agreeing to help, even if the work was tiring and could take some time. That made her wonder, because such people were too few for her liking and meeting someone this soft right now, Anzu couldn't believe it. He looked like a sportsman, tall and well-build, but his personality was the cutest thing one could imagine. Despite rather sharp features and tan, Anzu thought that Atem had the sweetest eyes of them all, even if they were of strange, violet-red colour. And especially when he smiled, like he was doing now, she had to fight sudden urge to catch him, cuddle and strangle with love.

"Of course. " Atem just said, smiling lightly and Anzu had to clam her inner girl, to try and not hug him. "Should I start with this one?"

Instructing, what and how he had to do to clean the painting, Anzu observed Atem and couldn't believe, just couldn't comprehend, how someone like him could be a slave...

/

The evening started quietly, with nothing more to do than to sit comfortably on the balcony and enjoy a small breeze that had a smell of a sea. Yami sighed a countless time today, stretched and yet again failed in standing up and doing his necessity. He didn't want to go inside. Outside felt so peaceful, but it also carried potential danger; he could relax too much and drift off, not having anyone by his side. As much as Yami would like to have freedom to do so, he knew better than to indulge in his small, selfish desires.

A notepad on his desk waited, blank paper needed to be filled. Yami despised it and loved a the same time. It wasn't that it was actually doing him any harm or was particularly annoying. It was just frustrating having to have to do it. The activity itself held no significance, but the information he so busily wrote down most certainly did. Because Yami was interpreting his visions.

He noticed it a while ago, comparing seen phantoms with people known or acquaintanced with him. And the turning point happened, when a bluish-white beast in his dream was weeping sadly, its wing hanging loosely, apparently broken, far away from him. Then, he had got to know that his cousin, whom he grew to suspect was symbolized by the dragon, had broke his leg, while being on business trip and had been giving everyone trouble ever since with his complaints. There was much more evidence to that, but it was Yami's favorite example since it didn't involve any of the stranger beasts attacking him, as it happened more often than not.

As a result, every evening before going to sleep, Yami read the notes he left for himself, after all this little, uneasy tries to close his eyes and rest. Right now he didn't know if he ever wanted to go to sleep. As much as he needed rest, the perspective of another clawed paw or sharp teeth waiting for him, to maul him, harm and kill was not something he would ever look forward to. So, instead of going again through his notes, Yami took out another sheet of paper from within a bottomless drawer, made sure his pencil was sharp enough and began writing.

_Dear Teacher, _

_ever since you are gone, my life have become more restless yet. I described my dreams to you, is that right? Now, they are getting more and more realistic and I am getting more and more worried. There was a time, when..._

A sudden crash, along with feminine scream of scare and surprise made him jump on his chair, resulting in painful bump of his knee, when he wanted to stand up. In several long strides, Yami reached the door, opened it with a powerful swing of his arm, only to find panicked Anzu, kneeling by fallen ladder and torn arras, half-hanging on the wall and pooling already around her legs.

"What happened?!" Yami asked in loud voice, seeing that his servant didn't notice him. "Anzu, are you alright? Did you fall?"

"No master!" Anzu shrugged his hands, when he tried to lift her up and tugged at the arras. "Atem was helping me, but the ladder was too wobbly and he..."

She didn't get to finish, because Yami took the material in his own hands, braced himself as much as he could on the carpet and pulled. Heavy tapestry slid all the way down to the floor and further with a ripping sound, revealing unmoving, silent body, curled up and half-pressed by the ladder. Anzu shrieked, when Yami shook Atem by his shoulder and his head lolled lifelessly from side to side.

"It's alright, he is breathing." Yami said, his voice firm and designed to calm panicked woman. "Go get Mahad, please. And tell Miho to bring some cold water and bandages. Go!"

With Anzu gone and without her nervous whimpers, Yami could focus on checking Atem's state more carefully. Making sure that the servant was breathing normally, that his pupils were reacting to the light, even if with small delay and there was no blood in sight, Yami relaxed. There was no apparent danger to his life and as much as he feared that Atem harmed himself in more ways than one, it seemed that he only got a slight concussion. Talk about being lucky.

Deciding against waiting for help to arrive, Yami carefully gathered his slave from the floor, holding him in the middle, with one of his arms thrown around his own. Despite being some years older, Atem was as much well-build as Yami, being even a little taller. And as much as it amused Yami, he found it rather good-looking, now, when he was looking closely. But right there, he caught himself and shook his head; there would be time to think about such things, now his priority was to take Atem somewhere, where he could examine his head without interruption. As his own quarters were the closest, Yami shrugged and dragged the servant to his own bedroom.

Getting him on the bed proved to be much harder than Yami thought. Unconscious body was heavy, pulling him down, but somehow he managed to prop Atem on the headboard. Now, with a tired sigh, he himself climbed onto the covers, careful not to knock the other over. Having finished those maneuvers, Yami gently turned the slave, with kind hands parting strands of his hair in search for a wound.

The house was silent and nothing announced Mahad's arrival anytime soon. Most likely Anzu couldn't find him anywhere. Taking his time, Yami found this situation as strange as amusing; he was sitting cross-legged on his bed, having his most handsome slave not only unconscious, but also wounded there. If he found any wound, that was. Stroking lightly the servant's skull and inspecting his fingers, Yami found no blood whatsoever, which was good. But that meant Atem hit his head bad enough to pass out, which wasn't good at all. And he still couldn't even find the place that was hit.

When Yami's fingers were exploring left side of the slave's head above his ear, Atem sighed suddenly and his body, until now seemingly boneless and relaxed, went rigid. Pausing for a moment, Yami parted the hair in this place, only to find a bruised skin, purple and already swelling. _Ouch, that will hurt tomorrow_, he thought.

"Awake yet?" he asked, trying to see if Atem was conscious or not. He didn't want to turn him unnecessarily over again, but right now Atem was facing his master with his back and Yami needed to examine him.

A groan meant that yes, Atem was indeed awake, but also very, very hurt.

"How do you feel?" Yami interrogated further. He had to wait about two minutes, before the answer came, quiet and whispered.

"Dizzy." mumbled Atem, covering his eyes with arm. There was something wrong with his eyes, because everything seemed to sway nauseously. He couldn't remember what happened that he blacked out, where he was or who actually was talking to him. The surroundings were colorful dots, moving and waving without pattern and he felt his dinner coming back into his throat.

"Did you hurt something besides your head?" a deep, pleasant voice asked and Atem sighed again, relaxing, because he liked the voice. He didn't even try to answer, because it was all going on in his head, so there was no need to, right? Or so he thought, because his imaginary voice came in set with a pair of real-world, strong hands, that shook him by the arm lightly.

"Come on, no sleeping. I need you to remain conscious, I'm afraid."

Something clicked in Atem's brain. First lazily, slowly, but with each word with more speed, he realized whose voice it was that was gently trying to get him awake. His eyes snapped open, now recognizing décor of master's bedroom space. Blindly, he felt around himself, against his hopes finding himself in master's bed. He moaned quietly and with despair.

"Is something wrong..?"

Yami observed his slave with worry, when he was coming to, but what surprised him most was that Atem sat up suddenly and tried to bolt out of the bed, as if the floor was his salvation. Unfortunately, he must have hit his head much harder than he anticipated, because instead of standing on his own two feet and bowing in shame, Atem slid weakly to the ground with astonished look on his face, when his knees gave out.

Yami snorted.

"What are you doing? Come back here!"

Not knowing what to do, but still scared stiff that he did something that he didn't remember, but was bad anyhow, Atem hid his face in bedclothes and placed his outstretched hands before himself in imitation of a respectful Egyptian bow. How did he, in all heavens, got here? And into master's bed of all places? It was beyond Atem, but being caught made it all the worse.

Yami was having none of it.

"Atem." he said sternly, but when the slave didn't react, Yami crept to the edge of bed and forcefully made him look his master in the eye. "You fell down from the ladder and were hit in the head with an arras. You were unconscious."

Seeing distress in the slave's wide eyes, Yami added calmly. "I carried you here and put on my bed. You. Are. Injured." he said in slow, assuring voice, waiting for Atem to finally understand it was nothing he would be punished for. "Now come back here and lie down. I don't want you to faint again."

Atem's sight seemed to finally focus, meaning that his dizziness ended and headache was all that was left. Believing master's words that there was nothing he should worry about Atem wanted to get up, but in his enthusiasm and relief he did it too fast. Blood rushed to his head, he swayed and lost his footing.

The next thing he knew was strong arms pulling him towards the bed instead the floor and he found himself half-lying on strong, warm body. Master's voice, startled but with a chuckle audible told him to be still. "It's okay." Yami stated, patting the slave on the arm and tightening his grip on the other one, to prevent being crushed. "Just wait until your vertigo ceases."

"I'm really, really sorry, master..." Atem whispered, finding it strangely hard to normally articulate words. Yami laughed once more and Atem realized that it was the first time since he came here that he heard master laugh so freely. It was a beautiful sound, deep and unrestrained and master's face gained a little blush that made him look much healthier than normal. Catching himself that he was staring, Atem wanted to straighten, when another pair of arms, those much more brutal than master's, hauled him off Yami and onto the floor.

/

This night was a full moon.

It'd been hours since Mahad marched into Yami's quarters and nearly killed Atem for 'attacking' their master. It took all strength that Yami could find in his tired body to stop the butler from physically assaulting the other servant and force him to listen. Of course Mahad insisted that everything was Atem's fault and he needed to be punished as soon as he was able to stand straight, but Yami refused to acknowledge the butler's rant. With raised voice, so unusual and rarely heard in the house, he instructed Mahad to go to his quarters to cool down, while Miho and Yami himself were to be tending Atem's head. The butler obeyed, in shock that he was a subject for such command.

Later, when everything ended and Atem was escorted by Miho, still protesting that he was okay, but with a bandage around his hurting head, Yami called for Mahad. As much as he was angry at the servant for groundless judgment, caused only by his mistrust for Atem, he could understand, that situation in Mahad's eyes must had been too obvious not to react as he saw fit. It was his duty to protect the master, but Yami didn't want to be treated like he couldn't protect himself at all. And Atem really just lost his balance. There was nothing more to it and Yami refused to indulge into his curiosity and ask Mahad for a reason of his doubtful stare.

Now, after bath and prepared for the next day, Yami lied down on his bed, wondering what was it today that would attack him in his dream. By the side of his bed, silent and unmoving, stood Mahad, still a little hurt that his master didn't trust or believe him, but nonetheless ready to assist him through the night. As he sat down on his usual chair that was brought by him the next night master's dreams surfaced, Mahad thought it would take some time for Yami to fall asleep, so he was rather astonished, when after merely few minutes he heard faint snoring coming from master's pillow.

Setting into more comfortable position, Mahad prepared himself for light two hours rest, before he would have to wake up his screaming master.

/

_Yami always felt at peace in the beginning. Not having a body, physical body, allowed him to float through the landscape, enjoying the view and occasional butterfly, scared away by his movement. Then, usually it would become darker and unexplained fright would overtake his heart. After that, the monsters were to come. All gigantic, terrifying, threatening. Deadly. All focused on him exclusively, ready to kill and erase his existence. _

_But right now he was dreaming for a while, he was sure of it, and there was no darkness to engulf his weakened body. Only a meadow colorful with blooming flowers, the sun and a light breeze. And a river, glittering in the distance in the sunlight. Tempted and rather amused by sudden exception from the rule of his terrifying visions, Yami focused his steps in the direction, where something was moving. He couldn't see what or who it was, but it spiked his interest. Then, according to dream logic, the distance was gone and he could see clearly things that were previously just a points on the horizon. _

_Near river bank stood a tall tree. Its treetop was wide and bushy, unreal shadows hiding between the branches. But someone hooked a swing on one of them and a lone child was sitting on it, wiggling his toes. Usually, people in his visions didn't see him, so at first Yami wanted to come closer, to see the child's face, as it was hidden from him in the shadow cast by the leaves. But then it came to him that the dream wasn't the usual one, so it was possible that rules were different too. And he didn't want to scare the boy._

_In the distance, not too far, but not to close, Yami could see two more children. They were standing still, motionless and silent, even though they were surrounded by beautiful, expensive toys. Despite range, Yami could clearly see that these two were looking at the boy on the swing, but their youthful gazes were filled with anger and resentment. He frowned; even though the boys were about seven years old, their eyes showed at least twenty years of hate and jealousy, so intense that Yami stumbled back against himself. _

"_Don't worry." came from his right. "They cannot hurt me."_

_Yami turned around, only to see that the boy on the swing wasn't really talking to him. Around boy's neck and through his chest to left leg, a scarlet serpent was wriggling, pushing its oval head into boy's cheek, as if demanding caresses. The child giggled and patted the snake on its head._

_Suddenly, Yami felt the usual dread overwhelming him, but much faster and heavier than previously. When he spun around yet again, he noticed that the two boys in the distance weren't surrounded by toys anymore. One of them was flanked by enormous, ugly bird that radiated hellish heat, while the other was riding on shoulder of the creepiest personification of a god Yami remembered seeing. Their hostile, old eyes were exclusively focused on the boy with his snake, innocent and defenseless. As much as Yami wanted to give out some warning, a shout, anything that would cause the small boy to realize danger and escape, he found himself nearly choking on darkness that seemed to sneak closer, when he wasn't looking. He fell to his knees, fighting to regain his breathing._

_The monsters in the distance were getting bigger and more threatening with every second passing, the darkness covering them more and more, in the end leaving just their vile eyes, glowing in the dark. Shadows on the swing tree deepened as well and enlarged to encircle the boy. In the next second the cheerful child was to be covered and strangled by darkness, Yami nearly saw that happening even before the shadow touched the boy._

_Suddenly, the child straightened and the leaves rustled loudly. His eyes were crimson-violet, wide and looking at the shadows with calm certainty of an old warrior. Leaves rustled again, this time nearly forming words that Yami didn't understand. But the boy must have, as he spoke again, in deep, ordering voice, that didn't match his small posture._

"_Mahou!"_

_Sudden wave of violent wind hit Yami, making him fall down from his knees. When he got up again, he noticed with surprise that he could breathe normally, not disturbed by any darkness or monsters. But they were near, he could still feel them; looking around he found them easily. It was just that now, they were standing outside a magic circle that encompassed the swing tree, the boy and himself. They growled angrily, but could do nothing about the barrier, over and over crashing at the magic force. _

"_Thank you." the boy said, directing his words at something that despite the barrier, remained hidden in leaves' shadow. Glowing eyes of an animal or a crouching human blinked, as if in response. "you were right." _

"_And you." the boy with the snake draped over his shoulder, an ugly little thing that turned out to be a small dragon with even tinier wings, for the first time during this dream turned to face Yami and it came as a surprise, even though he must have suspected something previously, but seeing Atem as a child, this proud, royal boy made him shiver. "You really need to wake up."_

"_But..." Yami tried to protest, still having so much questions that he wanted to ask, but Atem dismissed his doubts by short, kingly movement of his hand._

"_Now!"_

/

Yami's eyes snapped open just in time to see that Mahad's hand was inches away from touching his face in attempt to wake him up. He sat up, massaging his eyes, when he noticed a lot of worried faces staring at him in shock.

"What's the matter?" he asked, frowning without understanding. Looking around, he saw Miho and Serenity in nightgowns, Anzu with candles in both hands, Atem hunched over his bed, just on the opposite side of Mahad. A little further stood every servant he had in this house, all in nightwear and looking more astonished than scared. "Why are you all here?"

When no one answered for a moment, Yami sighed with resignation. "Was my scream so loud again?"

Mahad blinked and moved, as if he snapped out of his reverie.

"It's actually the other way round master." he said, handing him his clothes. "You were sleeping quite peacefully until now."

"And then I screamed?" Yami asked, again feeling that there was some problem he couldn't grasp.

"No, master." it was Atem. His rich, pleasant voice reverberated in Yami's ears, as he still remembered the order from his dream, a child commanding him to wake up. "you woke up by yourself. Without making a sound."

Yami stared at him for a second. "What?!"

"We were worried." Atem added miserably.

"Is everything alright, master?" Anzu asked in quiet voice, genuine distress evident in her words.

"Yes..." Yami chocked on his words, when for a split of second cruel eyes of two hostile boys pierced him again, but the phantom was gone before he could consciously tense. "Yes, I think so."

Surrounded by his servants that found it unusual their master for once had a calm night, Yami began his preparations for a new day, as the sun finally managed to light the world, creating deep shadows in the garden. On one of taller trees, the one that nearly reached to master's bedroom windows, something remained still, until all people left the room. Then, an animal or a crouching human nodded to itself as if agreeing to something and silently disappeared in receding darkness of the night.

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter was supposed to be published.. ugh, about a month ago. yes, I'm well aware of that. but sudden situation forced me to refocus on something yet again and I disappeared from ffnet. for that and doing it without a word, I'm really, really sorry for all that waited in vain. right now, as my problem haven't ceased to exist, I declare that this story is going on hiatus until **end of February**. after that I'll restart updates once a week, and that's final. as I'll try to write in every moment possible and when I'm able to do so, I'll make sure to have chapters ready in advance, for a situation like this not to happen again.

I really thank _Mana's Madness, Fragments of Imagination, Donna_ and_ RoseMouto2010_ for their reviews. they warmed my heart and helped me keep my interest in this story high. thanks to that, I managed to complete this chapter. thank you all, again.

I hope that this chapter was not so bad and it explained some things. I'd love to know your impressions of it :) comments are love!


End file.
